The present invention relates to drawers fitted to a truck bed for storage and security and, more particularly, to a plurality of covered and lockable metal drawers of various sizes fitted beneath a truck rear deck.
Pick-up trucks and other light trucks are often retro-fitted with commercially available bed liners, tool chests, and a variety of storage containers. Some light trucks are supplied as motorized chassis without a rear deck or bed. Purchasers of such vehicles are able to custom fit these vehicles with a wide assortment of beds, decks, towing assemblies, welding equipment etc. These customizations are expensive and require skills often beyond those of a regular truck buyer. If for example, a truck required multiple below-deck drawers of various sizes, each drawer would have to be individually constructed, this would be a lengthy and costly process.
The present invention and method, utilizes proven construction and manufacturing techniques to mass produce modular metal drawers which can be assembled to fit a variety of common truck chassis. The invention drawers are slideably fitted into metal retaining brackets which give support to the movement of the drawer and create a modular assembly which can support a truck deck on the topside and attach to frame rails of the truck chassis. By using commonly available materials such as sheet steel, mild steel angle, diamond plate decking, metal hinges, lock units, and jigged construction methods, material and production costs are vastly reduced compared to custom products.
In practice, the creation of modular steel drawers allows a truck buyer to outfit a particular truck in any of a number of configurations with drawers along the whole length of the bed or in any number combination. The invention method of using angled steel as both a drawer guide and a deck support frame provides an assembly which is equally strong whether or not it has many drawers fitted or just a few.
The present invention consists of a method for mass-producing modular metal drawers and accompanying support framework to be fitted to the frame rails of a truck or other such vehicle.
The construction method for the drawers involves cutting of sheet steel plate according to pre-determined patterns and dimensions and thereafter mounting the cut pieces into jigs for welding. Assembled drawers can be surface treated against corrosion.
The construction method for the support framework is done in the same mannerxe2x80x94the length/width requirements for any given vehicle having been previously determined and stored for future use.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method for rapidly and economically creating metal drawers for use under truck decks.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for rapidly and economically creating metal drawers support framework for use under truck decks.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a repository of dimensional information for common vehicle sizes and makes to facilitate the rapid creation of frame and drawer units for any given vehicle.
It is a further object of this invention to provide locking covers for all such metal drawers.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a stopping means to keep the drawers from exceeding travel limits.
It is a further object of this invention to provide folding handles which remain flush with the drawer front until used to open the drawer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a non-skid, durable deck surface which forms the upper component of the framework system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sheet metal lower skin surface which forms the lower component of the framework system.
The construction method of the invention framework provides a box structure having a front and a rear member and an upper and lower surface member. Interspersed throughout the length of the box structure, steel angled members are placed perpendicular to the axes of the surface members, spaced apart to accommodate the insertion of a metal drawer and to act as a guide for the drawers.